Salespeople are the new Super Heroes

My message today is designed to motivate you. To make you feel great about being in the Sales Profession; and to encourage you to look forward rather than backwards.

As the world continues to wallow in this economic crisis; as unemployment continues to creep up; as consumers and investors sit on the sidelines; and as companies continue to cut back, there is only one way out of this recession. We have to sell our way out.

It is the only way.

We have to get both consumers and businesses to start buying more products and services. And the only way we will sell our way out is if the hard working men and women of the Sales Profession step up and get to work.

Now some of you may say, "You're nuts Jeb. The situation with the economy is way more complicated than this. We've got the housing crisis, unemployment, the mess with the banks, government bailout, lack of consumer confidence and more. How can you stand there and suggest that salespeople are the key to our economic survival."

It's ok if you feel that way. This is a reasonable response to my assertion during this time of fear, uncertainty and doubt. And indeed the situation is complex. But I want you to consider this - and while doing so think about your own household, employer, or business.

Most people and businesses over the past seven months have cut huge amounts of fat from their budgets. Households have stopped spending and begun saving. New purchases like cars, furniture, and vacations have been deferred or cut completely. Household budgets have been slashed and most families are living a much more austere lifestyle than they were last year at this time.

Businesses too have undergone massive cost cutting. Any expense that was considered non-essential to the company's survival has been axed. And essential expenses have been slashed though negotiation with vendors and less consumption. There have been massive layoffs as organizations have cut headcount to the bone. Businesses and their employees are working in a much leaner environment that they were a year ago.

However, the once place where smart businesses have cut the least or not at all is in their sales organizations. The reason is simple: corporate executives and business owners are keenly aware that, though cuts in expenses are critical to survival, they cannot cut their way out of this recession. Those cuts simply lay a foundation for profitability and allow the organization to leverage scarce resources for revenue generation activities - otherwise known as SALES.

So as we look forward, leading the way out of this economic quagmire will be the Elite Athletes of the Business World™ - our Sales Professionals.

Salespeople are the new Super Heroes. People all over the world are counting on you to save us. Through your efforts of prospecting, questioning, presenting, closing, and relationship building you will save millions of jobs, you will keep your employers financially viable, and you will lead us to a new era of growth and abundance.

As you head out to hit the phones and pound the streets. As you encounter reduced budgets, scared buyers, and unscrupulous competitors. As you overcome objections and persistently ask for the business in the face of unrelenting "no's." I want you to stop for a moment and look at yourself in the mirror. What you will be seeing is Super Hero who one sale at a time is playing the most important role in our economic recovery.

Lift your shoulders up, stick your chin out, and be proud - you work in the most important profession in business. Look forward not backward. Stay focused. Be persistent. And WIN! The whole world in counting on you.

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by Jeb Blount

Jeb Blount is an internationally recognized expert in sales and sales leadership. His audio programs have been downloaded more than 2 million times on iTunes. Jeb's new Audio Book Sales Guy's 7 Rules For Outselling The Recession has just been released by MacMillan Audio.